Tech in Plain Sight: The Mechanics of String Trimmers

My old friend Jeff was always vocally upset that he didn’t come up with the idea of a string trimmer, commonly known as a Weed Eater or Weed Whacker. On the one hand, the idea is totally simple: spin some nylon line and cut grass and other relatively soft things. But, it turns out, that making the device actually usable requires a little bit of mechanical engineering.